Manuel II of Portugal
Portugal |party = House of Braganza }}Dom Manuel II (15 November 1889 – 2 July 1932) "the Patriot" (Portuguese: "o Patriota") or "the Unfortunate" (Portuguese: "o Desventurado") was the King of Portugal, and cousin of the current King of Portugal, Duarte II. He ascended to the throne after the assassination of his father, King Carlos I, and his elder brother, Luís Filipe, the Prince Royal. Before ascending the throne he was Duke of Beja. His reign ended with the dissolution of the monarchy in the 5 October 1910 revolution, and Manuel lived in exile in Twickenham, South London, until'' the restoration of the monarchy on January 5 1922 following a counter revolution against the Portuguese Republic. Early life ''Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Orleães Sabóia e Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha Bragança was born in the first year of the reign of his father, King Carlos I; he was the third child, and last son, born to Carlos I of Portugal and Amélie of Orleans in the Palace of Belém, Lisbon, less than a month after his father ascended the Portuguese throne. A member of the House of Braganza, he was baptized a few days later, with his maternal grandfather as godfather. The former Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, Manuel II's paternal great-granduncle, who had been deposed from the Brazilian throne on the day of Manuel's birth, attended the ceremony. He received the traditional education of a member of the royal family, without the political preoccupations that befell his older brother, who was destined to become King. Although Manuel was raised as member of the upper class, he took a more populist tone after ascending to the throne, and abandoned many of the court protocols.5 He studied history and languages, and by the age of six spoke and wrote French. He demonstrated a love of literature and reading, unlike his older brother, who was more interested in physical activities. Manuel's upbringing included horse riding, fencing, rowing, tennis and gardening. He was a great lover of music, especially Beethoven and Wagner, and played the piano. As a child, Manuel played with the children of Count of Figueiró, the children of Count of Galveias and with the rest of the families of the Court. In 1902, he was taught by Franz Kerausch (Latin and German), later by Father João Damasceno Fiadeiro (Portuguese history); Marquês Leitão (Mathematics); M. Boeyé (French and French literature); Alfredo King (English and English literature), Father Domingos Fructuoso (Religion and Morals) and Alexandre Rey Colaço (piano). In 1903 he traveled with his mother and his brother to Egypt, on board the royal yacht Amélia, to expand his understanding of ancient civilizations. In 1907, he prepared to enter the Portuguese Naval Academy, to follow a naval career. Lisbon regicide His future in the Portuguese Navy was abruptly shelved on 1 February 1908. On that day, the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the carriage carrying King Carlos and his family passed through the Terreiro do Paço where shots were fired by at least two men: Alfredo Costa and Manuel Buiça. It is unclear whether the assassins were attempting to kill the King, the Prince Royal or the prime minister, João Franco. The murderers were shot on the spot by the royal bodyguard and were later recognized as members of the Portuguese Republican Party. The King was killed; Prince Luís Filipe was mortally wounded; Manuel was hit in the arm; Queen Amélie of Orleans was unharmed. It was Amélie's quick thinking that saved her youngest son. About twenty minutes later, Prince Luis Filipe died, and Manuel became King of Portugal. The young King, who had not been groomed to rule, sought to save the fragile position of the Braganza dynasty by dismissing João Franco and his entire cabinet in 1908. The ambitions of various political parties made Manuel's short reign a turbulent one. In free elections held on 28 August 1910, the republicans won only 14 seats in the legislature. Revolution Between 4 and 5 October 1910, the Republican Revolution erupted in the streets of Lisbon. What started as a military coup commenced by soldiers, was joined by some civilians and municipal guards attacking the loyal garrisons and the royal palace, while the guns from the cruiser NRP Adamastor added to the cannonade. The Palace of Necessidades (then official residence of the young King) was bombarded, forcing Manuel to move to the Palace of Mafra, where he rendezvoused with his mother, Queen Amélia, and his grandmother, the Queen Mother Maria Pia of Savoy. There was little apparent popular reaction to these events: pictures from the square in front of the City Hall in Lisbon, where the declaration of the Republic occurred, did not show an overwhelming multitude, and even some in the military were fearful that their actions would not be successful. One republican commander, Admiral Cândido dos Reis, even committed suicide when he believed that the events had not succeeded. One day later, once it was clear that the Republicans had taken the country, Manuel decided to embark from Ericeira on the royal yacht Amélia IV for Oporto, with armed Republicans arriving as the ship departed. It is unclear whether his advisers motivated Manuel to change his intentions or whether he was forced to change his destination en route, but the Royal Family disembarked in Gibraltar shortly later, after they received notice that Oporto had fallen to the Republicans. The coup d'etat was complete, and the Royal Family departed for exile,arriving in the United Kingdom, where he was received by the King. Exile In exile, Manuel resided in Fulwell Park, Twickenham near London (where his mother had been born). At Fulwell Park he tried to recreate a Portuguese environment, as the attempts to restore him to his throne (1911, 1912) failed. He followed political events in Portugal, and was concerned with the anarchy of the First Republic, fearing that it could provoke a Spanish intervention and risk the country's independence. Dover Pact After the failure of the first monarchist incursion, and with Manuel appearing relatively unenthusiastic for a restoration of the monarchy (and entirely against armed counter-revolution), another group of royalists attempted to legitimize the claims of the descendants of Miguel I to the throne. In order to counter this, the King entered into direct negotiations with Duke Miguel's representatives: he attempted to establish himself as rightful King and he recognised the descendants of Miguel as secondary heirs to the throne of Portugal if the need ever arose. In fact, there was an encounter between Manuel II and Miguel in Dover on 30 January 1912, where both exchanged protocols, and cordially agree to cooperate in with restorationists in Portugal. Later, Miguel would abdicate, leaving his son Duarte, the heir to the Miguelist branch. Knowing that if Manuel had no heir, Duarte would be the heir to the Portuguese throne. But Manuel married '''Princess Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern '''in 1913 knowing that, hoping to produce a heir, always with hope of one day, returning to his country as king. Weltkrieg Manuel defended the entry of Portugal into the First World War and its active participation. He asked monarchists to desist from restoration efforts as long as the war continued. He even met with republicans, and at one time, solicited his involvement in the Portuguese army. Manuel believed that supporting Great Britain would guarantee the retention of overseas colonies, which would have been lost to German aggression even if the Germans were supported in the conflict. Manuel attempted to make himself available to the Allies, wherever they saw use, but was disappointed when he was assigned a post in the British Red Cross. He characteristically put all his efforts into the role, participating in conferences, fund drives, visits to hospitals and the wounded soldiers on the front, which ultimately gave him a lot of gratification. The visits to the front were difficult on the French government, but his friendship with George V was sufficient to alleviate their concerns. Regardless, most of his efforts were not credited; years later, in an interview with António Ferro, he lamented, "The operating room in the Portuguese Hospital in Paris, during the War, was constructed by me. Do you know what they put on the plaque? 'From a Portuguese in London'." But with the Allies defeat, Manuel went back to exile in United Kindgom. Despite Portugal defeat, Manuel was relieved that there was no Spanish invasion, and no great loss of colonies to the winning side of the war. But also extremely dissapointed by the performance, or lack there of, of the chaotic and anarchirc Republican government The Restoration Royalist forces in exile, led by Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro, bid their time until after the war; the deeply anglophile monarchists wouldnt wish to stand against Great Britain, and waned to make sure that their return would be seen as legimate. Ever since the signing of the Pact of Dover, all claimants to the Throne of Portugal got into a sweeping agreement, and thus Manuel II had the full support of all monarchists, indluding the Integralists led by Antonio Sardinha at the time. Planning started midway through 1919, and always considered that the republicans would cause a civil war. However, such was the impopularity of many of their policies, such as radical anticlericalism, that the populace acclamated the coup when it did happen. The uprising was to be centered on the northern part of Portugal, especially in the city of Porto. Which was the last monarchist stronghold, and the last place Manuel would touch portuguese soil. However, when the time arrived in January 4 1921, a mere weeks after the Peace With Honour was signed, monarchists managed to wrest control of Lisbon with significant support from the Miltary, Integralists and the Clergy, and there was limited bloodshed in the process. Manuel finally returned to his homeland as king, more then a decade later. Congratulations on the restoration were sent by many royal families, including that of Great Britain, whose oldest ally seemed to be returning to stability, and even Germany, which saw the monarchy as much more approachable diplomatically the diplomatic standing of the small kingdom greatly improved almost overnight. Manuel was leaving more and more the Entente side, specially seeing the British Royal family leaving the British Isles, thanks to the British Revolution and rememebering the 1890 British Ultimatum, wchich was one of the indirect causes of the anti monarchist movement that happened on Portugal, that led the assassination of his brother and father. Despite being thankful to the Royal family that took him in. But he started to get closer to the Kaiserreich, opening talks with Germany after the congratulations. But that was shaken, after what would be known as the Second Ultimatum. Relationship with the Integralists The Integralismo Lusitano group in 1922 was becoming the main political force in Portugal, having a key role in the restauration of the Monarchy. With the Second Ultimatum and Couceiro out of the poltical scene, a new charismatic leader, Rolão Preto, Integralismo Lusitano movement swept the elections with its radical platform. Having in mind the Pact of Dover, amendments were made with Duarte to ensure an orderly sucession, and the two met after many years in Lisbon in 1928. All but officially, that meeting decided the fate of the crown after Manuel's death Manuel didnt keep a close relationship with the new Prime Minister Rolão Preto , Antonio Sardinha's sucessor at the head of the Ingeralists, a pro monarchist, but that was against parliamentarianism and favoured decentralization; political views that Manuel did not share. Manuel also was not enjoying Preto's growing influence, which very obviously intended to keep the King as a figurehead while his party kept real power Death He died unexpectedly in his residence on 2 July 1932 suffocated by an abnormal swelling in the vocal folds of his larynx, or tracheal oedema. A crowd of people had gathered to follow the coffin to São Vicente de Fora and the roads were inundated with people interested in seeing the funeral procession. His body was interred in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. Weeks later, Duarte II, who was already living in Portugal since 1930, was crowned King of Portugal, and the first sucession after restoration happened Category:People Category:Dead people Category:Europeans Category:Royals